Review: Geekerella: A Fangirl Fairy Tale by Ashley Poston
11/11/2017
Plot:
Cinderella goes to the con in this fandom-fueled twist on the classic fairy tale.
Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad's old costume), Elle's determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.
Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they're nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he's ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise.
Thoughts:
Modern fairy tale indeed. In what universe would a celebrity and an ordinary person fall inlove, barely knowing each other, and just merely textmates? I just can't get pass that, sorry.
Another one thing I can't quite dive into is how Sage and Elle became instant friends. I get that Sage is made out to be this tough, no nonsense chick with a warm heart. They've been working together for quite some time and Elle has mentioned that they don't really talk at all, and for Sage to just one day talk to her and be nice to her? I get that Sage is trying to be nice because she sees that Elle's having it rough because her step sisters bully her, but there's a plot hole there somewhere that doesn't explain what made Sage go all soft on Elle all of a sudden, and I need that! (LOL, sorry for feeling too strongly on this)
But everything else about this book is galactic. Like Elle's passion for the fandom. Great, great nod to geek culture. In this aspect, she is relatable. Every geek and fangirls and boys would probably go, 'yup, that's me.' And because its a retelling of Cinderella's story, the story doesn't really surprise you anymore. You know she's going to be able to go to ExcelsiCon, right off from the start you get the idea that they're gonna be taking the Magic Pumpkin, and that she's going to win that cosplay contest, not first price though. But I like that it was such an easy read. You can just be all chill and genuinely enjoy it.
Elle runs a blog, and her favorite show of all time, Starfield, is going to be made into a movie, and we all know movie adaptations are the worst. She wrote a rather spiteful entry that gained the whole fandom's attention, but brought nothing but bad press to Darien, who will play lead in that movie adaptation. Darien is also a big Starfield fan, and what he had hoped as a dream role became a big pressure since majority of the fandom thinks he's not fit for the role and seemingly, only his Seaside Cove fans are happy about it - which I think is not the right crowd he wants to gain approval of. By a bizaare twist of faith Elle and Darien become textmates, what started as innocent banters turned into something deep and they began relying on each other for strength. For Elle to go for the Cosplay contest and for Dar to do the best he can as Carmindor, the Federation Prince.
This book tackles a lot about the fandom life and the struggles of it. Like they say, I did not choose the fandom life, the fandom life chose me. It's hard enough being a fangirl, Elle had to also deal with her stepmother and stepsisters. Though I'm doubtful of their frindship at first, I was glad that Elle made a bestfriend out of Sage (I love this name, I was close to naming my first child that). In the end, she learned to stand up for herself, plus gaining a celebrity boyfriend didn't hurt either.
I love, love, love that us geeks and nerds are being represented in books just like this one. I think it's becoming a trend, but hopefully they are books meant to genuinely represent and not just to capitalize on geek/nerd culture. I also love that once and for all that feeling of having something that you love so much in all of the galaxies and for it to be changed in a way that might not suit you and that there's this whole fanfare about it that is blowing out of proprotions to the point that it makes you uncomfortable has been now written in words through Geekerella.
Since I'm the type of reader that reads cover to cover, when I read the Acknowledgement page I just had a lot of feelings about it. It got me so emotional and teary-eyed. I would like to post it all here but I don't that's legal? LOL. So here's just some important things:
Had to hold my sobs because I was reading in the office.
So should you read this book? Yes, definitely!
Rating:
4 stars
Modern fairy tale indeed. In what universe would a celebrity and an ordinary person fall inlove, barely knowing each other, and just merely textmates? I just can't get pass that, sorry.
Another one thing I can't quite dive into is how Sage and Elle became instant friends. I get that Sage is made out to be this tough, no nonsense chick with a warm heart. They've been working together for quite some time and Elle has mentioned that they don't really talk at all, and for Sage to just one day talk to her and be nice to her? I get that Sage is trying to be nice because she sees that Elle's having it rough because her step sisters bully her, but there's a plot hole there somewhere that doesn't explain what made Sage go all soft on Elle all of a sudden, and I need that! (LOL, sorry for feeling too strongly on this)
But everything else about this book is galactic. Like Elle's passion for the fandom. Great, great nod to geek culture. In this aspect, she is relatable. Every geek and fangirls and boys would probably go, 'yup, that's me.' And because its a retelling of Cinderella's story, the story doesn't really surprise you anymore. You know she's going to be able to go to ExcelsiCon, right off from the start you get the idea that they're gonna be taking the Magic Pumpkin, and that she's going to win that cosplay contest, not first price though. But I like that it was such an easy read. You can just be all chill and genuinely enjoy it.
Elle runs a blog, and her favorite show of all time, Starfield, is going to be made into a movie, and we all know movie adaptations are the worst. She wrote a rather spiteful entry that gained the whole fandom's attention, but brought nothing but bad press to Darien, who will play lead in that movie adaptation. Darien is also a big Starfield fan, and what he had hoped as a dream role became a big pressure since majority of the fandom thinks he's not fit for the role and seemingly, only his Seaside Cove fans are happy about it - which I think is not the right crowd he wants to gain approval of. By a bizaare twist of faith Elle and Darien become textmates, what started as innocent banters turned into something deep and they began relying on each other for strength. For Elle to go for the Cosplay contest and for Dar to do the best he can as Carmindor, the Federation Prince.
This book tackles a lot about the fandom life and the struggles of it. Like they say, I did not choose the fandom life, the fandom life chose me. It's hard enough being a fangirl, Elle had to also deal with her stepmother and stepsisters. Though I'm doubtful of their frindship at first, I was glad that Elle made a bestfriend out of Sage (I love this name, I was close to naming my first child that). In the end, she learned to stand up for herself, plus gaining a celebrity boyfriend didn't hurt either.
I love, love, love that us geeks and nerds are being represented in books just like this one. I think it's becoming a trend, but hopefully they are books meant to genuinely represent and not just to capitalize on geek/nerd culture. I also love that once and for all that feeling of having something that you love so much in all of the galaxies and for it to be changed in a way that might not suit you and that there's this whole fanfare about it that is blowing out of proprotions to the point that it makes you uncomfortable has been now written in words through Geekerella.
Since I'm the type of reader that reads cover to cover, when I read the Acknowledgement page I just had a lot of feelings about it. It got me so emotional and teary-eyed. I would like to post it all here but I don't that's legal? LOL. So here's just some important things:
"And yeah, there might not be real magic in this world, but there is the power of fandom..."
"Never give up on your dreams, and never let anyone tell you that what you love is inconsequential or
useless or a waste of time... That is never a waste of time."
Had to hold my sobs because I was reading in the office.
So should you read this book? Yes, definitely!
Rating:
4 stars
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